The Guardian Angel of Humanity
by Cerily
Summary: I am the Hero of the 104th Trainee Corps. I am Angel Blase, the boy who survived the fall of Shiganshina and joined the Military. There, I discovered what I am. A Fighter. A Soldier. A Hero. A Guardian Angel. (Re-write, re-upload. POV from OC. Warning! Does include heavy Manga spoilers!)
1. Angel's High In The Sky

**Quick note, sorry to anyone who followed the original version. I decided to re-do it and start entirely fresh, so sorry.**

* * *

I still can't believe they made me write this. After all we've been through the others just threw the hardest task I've ever had on me. Well, I'll explain. I am Angel Blase, a boy who lived in Shiganshina until that fateful day. The day me and the others refer to as "The Betrayal." Currently, the remaining soldiers left from our war decided that I was best suited to write down everything that had happened. So, like the fool I am, I'm left standing here re-telling the adventure and story of our victory against the Titans. And believe me, it was not easy.

"Let me start at a place I remember the best, the fall of Shiganshina. It happened a hundred years after we built our walls and became safe from the threat of death by Titan, almost. Titans are 15-4 meter tall monsters that bumble around and eat humans, for no reason other than to kill them. They are also really hard to kill, their only weakness being the nape of their neck. Any thing else wounded would just regenerate in a little time, an entire hand back in a minute. However in the walls they could never get us, we were safe from them. That is, until 845. That's the year everything changed.

* * *

A hand was resting on the wall. A hand was resting on the wall. A hand was resting on the wall. Not any hand, a Titan's skinless red hand. That was attached to a skinless red head that was horribly disfigured and disgusting. That same head was staring over the wall towards all of us. And then at the gate a shattering sound was heard as the Titan lifted it's foot back and smashed through the gate. Pieces of brick flew everywhere, demolishing the buildings closest to it. From where I was, almost 30 blocks away from the gate, I had to lift my hands up to my face to protect myself from debris. And a thick cloud of mist was clinging around the gate, but from it emerged a dark shape. It hit me then, for the first time in history the walls had been breached. For the first time in a hundred years, humanity would only fall to the Titans once again.

Today, the Titans would devour humanity once again.

I remember something my mother had once said to my father late at night when they thought I was sleeping. She said to my father something that her grandfather had told her about the Titans when she was young, "The Titans greatest ally is the fear they induce. FEAR stands for Fuck Everything And Run."And having those words running through my head at a billion kilometers every second and staring at the Titans that were entering Shiganshina, well I realized something. I realized that what I had to do just that, I had to fuck everything and run, I had to stop for nothing. And I wonder if my mother was thinking the exact same thing. I don't think I could ask her if she was, it would be sort of weird saying that I had heard that conversation.

So I did that, throwing off the hand that had rested on my shoulder and turning around. I stopped for a second as my eyes took in the face next to me, my sister Vicky. Her Amber eyes full of terror and fear, her copper hair that barely reached her shoulders at the back still as if no wind blew through the city. Which there was no wind blowing, nothing to make you think that this world was un-changing, that it had always been this way. But it hadn't, this Titan did not exist, should not exist, before today.

"Vicky..."Her blank eyes turned to me, "Vicky we have to...have to...leave."My words were forced, more for me than anyone else. No words came from her, but I knew what was happening in her head. She may have been the same age as me, we were twins, but she wasn't as prepared for this as me. She never stayed up late, never heard them yelling at each other. Them crying, talk about the Titans. I never understood why they talked about the beasts, thinking there was no need when they were so far away. They could never get us, we were safe from them. That's what my mind had thought, what the entire world had thought until merely five minutes ago. To think an entire world could be shattered in five minutes. It really is amazing.

I grabbed her arm, and began to run towards the gate. She didn't move, paralyzed with fear, and not the acronym version.

"Angel! Vicky! What are you doing there?"A soldier was running towards us, one of my father's friends who knew us but we didn't know him, "You should run towards the exit, get out of the city."He stopped in front of us, with a stupid smile on his face."

You should be fighting...

"I'm fighting a different battle, getting people out!"He was right, there was more to this than killing Titans. The people needed to get out as well, and for everyone who took a soldier to move was one less soldier fighting the Titans.

I can't get Vicky to move!"She was still standing there not moving.

"You can't be serious..."He shook his head and sheathed his blades, and then he grabbed Vicky and held her like a baby. Being a soldier must make you strong, really strong. "Angel, you run towards the gate. We'll be waiting on a boat, better get running."He took off into the air and I stood there watching them fly off. I turned around and saw that the Titans had started getting close, but were far away from me still. Everyone had already ran past me by now, and I watched as a wallist walked forward towards the Titans preaching about how you must believe. His head turned to the side as a Titan reached out and picked him up. He preached to the end of his life.  
A booming sound appeared behind me, and a turned back towards the gates as an abberant Titan ran towards me from that direction. It was only a four-five meter class, I ducked into a nearby building. I hoped it would forget that I had been there, and find another target. I ran towards the stairs of the two story house, which was a beginning to rot and peel. A pair of chairs sat at a large table at what I assumed was the kitchen. It was lonely and sad, very much like my situation right now. The Titan's footsteps slammed into my airs like thunder, and from the stairs I saw it's face peer in. It's giant eyes stared at me, and then it slammed it's fist through the door.

A flash of green shoot through my vision, and the Titan's head rolled back as it fell to the ground.

A man landed on top of the dead Titan, his green cloak billowed as a wind started to blow. "What are you doing kid? You won't live in that house when another Titan finds you."His voice was cold and emotionless, and as as I watched he pulled out a cleaning rag and wiped his blade down.

"Levi! You shouldn't have gone off on your own!"A female-sounding voice sounded from out of my vision, but then 3DMG cords attached to the ground near the dead Titan, and a blonde-haired woman fell to the ground from above the building.

"I killed the Titan didn't I?"Pieces of brick fell to the ground as the walls of this building began to crumble.

"But you could have died!"The woman was practically yelling at the person.

"Shut up Petra, I don't need your lectures. I killed a Titan, and saved a boy. I've done my job, whether it was in a team or not. And you know I don't need a team to fight, you've seen me in action. Like this Titan could even touch me."The man shrugged as his face turned to the blown open gate, "I'll find the Titan that did that though. Trust me Petra, place your faith in me."

"I always have Levi, I always have..."The woman turned around and looked back at me, "What should I do with him?"

"Take him out of the city,"He spoke without turning to me or the woman, "The gate will probably close soon enough. Come on Petra, Erwin will be waiting for us to rejoin the main force."

"Yes Captain!"The woman glanced towards the gates, and then turned back to me, "Hey! Little boy just come over here, it'll be safe okay?"She smiled and I stood still, unable to move because I was sure I should be dead. "Hey, it's all fine okay?"I pushed off the stairs I was sitting at, and stood shakily as I stared at the woman. "Come on, just walk over here."Her voice was calm and reassuring, but then a Titan came running out of an alleyway behind her.

"Petra! Watch out!"The green-cloaked man I think the woman had called Levi grabbed her and took off into the air. From where I was i saw her drop onto the nearby building and then the green-cloaked man sliced through the Titan's nape. I stared in wonder as he landed on the ground again. And I put all pieces together, the skill he had. The green cloak he wore, his name. The Survey Corps emblem that was stitched onto the back of his jacket.

The man that had just saved me twice was none other than the legendary Captain Levi! Humanities greatest soldier.

"Petra, get the boy and get out of this damn hell! I won't leave until you have!"Captain Levi yelled up at the woman, who I was sure was now Petra. Petra seemed to be dazed and confused slightly, but then she stood up and saw the dead Titan with Captain Levi standing on it.

"Yes sir!"She returned to the ground and looked back at me, she opened her mouth to speak but Captain Levi was faster,

"Hey! You fucking idiot, get the hell over here right now. I'm not gonna sit through any more games, get moving."His tone was angry but very commanding. Not even thinking, I did as he said.

The woman grabbed me by the back of my shirt, and held me up without any effort. I stared up at her face, as she looked down at me, "What's you name? How old are you?"Her grip was strong, but her voice was soft.

I felt a bit more safe, and I managed to tell her my name, "I'm...I'm...Angel Blase! I'm thirteen..."She smiled at me.

"Blase you say? I know a Blase, great soldier. you remind me of him." Petra took off into the air, holding the back of my shirt as she did so. Let me just say it burned, a lot.

* * *

I can't believe it! Wall Maria has been breached, how is this possible?"I was staring at another Titan which had just slid straight through the gate to Wall Maria. It was weird, much more leaner than most Titans. It seemed to be green from where I was, and I could tell it had cleanly cut white hair. As I watched it, an eerie silence filling all the boats and no talk being done, it appeared to almost breathe fire. But no, Titans can't breath fire. It must have been some optical illusion. And then it disappeared from view as my boat turned a corner and switched the direction I was sitting in. I stood up to try to see the Titan again, but so many people were blocking my view. I sat down again, next to Vicky. She wasn't speaking at all, and I was almost sure she was just a moving corpse.

"Vicky,"I grabbed and shook her arm. "Vicky, are you okay?"

"Oh shut up kid, no one will ever be okay after this. Don't ask such a stupid question."An old man sitting next to me with a hat covering his face spoke up. I looked at him, sure I knew him from somewhere. And then it clicked after a while,

"Hey! You're Mr. Arlert!"He chuckled.

"Yes, I am Mr. Arlert, surprised anyone still recognizes me."

"How could anyone forget you! You're a town legend... no sorry. You were a town legend. Your protection of the poor still is talked about by my parent's every night. Well, it was talked every night... They stopped a while ago."

"I still can't believe there are titans in the walls."I turned my face to the sun setting behind us. It was such a stupid thing, such a beautiful sight at such an ugly time. It was like the world was laughing in my face, "Remember as well, even when the world laughs in your face it doesn't make you any worse. It just makes others stupid."I stared up at him.

"How did you..."

"It's not hard to guess what you were thinking while looking at the sunset. Your face was hard, and solemn. But don't worry about it, it's not your job. It's the job of the adults to confront this. Children don't fight, not yet at least."Mr. Arlert sighed, and then he turned around and looked at the sunset too, "Life will always spit in your face, but you just have to wipe it off and keep going."


	2. Returning A Ring

As it turned out afterwards, I learned that it wasn't the fall of Shiganshina, it was the fall of all of Wall Maria. At first, as everyone on the boat stood watching that Titan, I had thought that it just gotten through the gate before it had closed. Like the Garrison was too slow, not quick enough. Or maybe I knew that Wall Maria had been breached but the though was so horrible and something that I shouldn't even dare to comprehend that to believe the walls had been breached was like heresy. The walls were, no matter what people said, our saviors and protectors. Our personal Gods, all of us relied on the walls for safety. And then to think that they weren't as safe as we were told to believe was just like that. The whole world, gone in mere seconds.

And then, everything began to suddenly collapse and this world descended into madness. Starvation was taking over the lives of everyone withing Wall Rose, and there was only one way to change that, we would have to retake Wall Maria. Before too many Titans made it through, many of us would gladly die for the rest of us to survive happily back in their homeland. At least I wanted to believe that was running through everyone's minds as the gates slowly opened and person after person marched out to face the Titans on the ground. I wanted to believe that soon I would be marching out alongside the people who had left and rejoicing as me and everyone looked over at the land we had won back. I wanted to let myself be deluded by that dream, but I couldn't. As every person walked out, and I scanned everyone I could. I wanted to remember as many as possible in case they never came back.

One woman caught my eyes in particular, the way her blonde hair was so short compared to all the other woman. But this girl wasn't leaving the walls, she was just trying to walk through the crowd of dead people. I watched as she tripped and her eyes accidently met mine for a few seconds. Forever marked into my memory were her blue eyes, that gazed right through. She was young, around my age. The way she carried herself even when she walked reminded her of myself. I saw some shiny object flash as it fell to the ground, and then she moved on. I ran over and grabbed the object, then glanced over towards the alleyway from where she girl had moved into. She wasn't there.

I looked at the object the girl had dropped. It was a silver ring, one that seemed of little value. I should probably return it to her, if I can find her.

I moved away from where I was, disappearing into the alleyways filled with broken glass. I ran to the end of it, and turned the corner of it. I went down a shorter alleyway, and turned another corner. At the end of this alleyway, sitting against a building, was the blonde girl that I had watched fall. I knew I had to return the ring.

I took a step towards her, but my foot caught on a rock on the ground and I couldn't hold my balance. I fell to the ground, my body scraping against the roughness of the ground. Then the girl was standing over me, "You seem to have fallen."I pushed myself off the ground, as she stepped back and leaned against the wall. I stood up, my knees bending a bit and feeling a bit shaky.

I hold out my palm, which had the ring clutched into her it, "I think you dropped this."The girl's eyes widened and she quickly glanced at her had and then grabbed the ring right out of my hand.

"How did you get this?"She hissed at me with sudden violence. I brought my hands up and stepped backwards,

"Hey! I said you dropped it!"Her hand grabbed my shirt and she lifted me into the air. She didn't even seem to be straining herself to do it. Her eyes stayed soft.

"What's your name?"Her voice was harsh and strong, but something felt off about it. I felt scared, and I felt like I was in trouble. But for some reason I couldn't help myself as I defiantly spoke, "You should tell me your's first. I did return your ring."Her eyes suddenly softened, and I noticed that the blue actually seemed to lighten a bit. She let my shirt go, and I fell to the ground, "You could try being nicer you know, I did just help you."

She whipped around and slapped me in the face, sending me flying sideways with the strength. My cheek burned like hell, but the actually pain stopped shortly after the hit. My hands curled into fists, and I felt like punching her. But something told me that would not be a good idea.

"Hey kid, fuck you and your words. Just leave me alone alright? Thanks for the ring, but go away."Her eyes were a like a raging ocean, even matching the color of stormy water. It was weird, but every time I looked at her she had different colored eyes.

"Hey, I was just trying to return a ring. I'm out, I don't why I stopped to help you."I got up from sitting on the ground, my butt aching slightly from landing hard on it. I turned and walked towards the way I came, with a slightly hobble to my step. The ground was rough, and my foot that wobbled came down on a rock. I started to fall, my arms wailing out behind me.

Then a strong arm caught one of them, and kept me from falling. It pulled on me slightly, bringing me back to standing normal. I turned around again, standing face to face once more with her, "Thank you."Tumbled out before I could think.

Her eyes hardened for a second, her fists forming for a second. And then suddenly she softened, didn't smile but her eyes. I can't describe it but...her eyes were like stars for a moment. A little twinkle passed through them, and even though her body didn't let her smile I could feel that she wanted to. Her complexion stayed the same but changed so much to me. Her eyes! Her eyes were like...I don't even know.

And then she seemed startled for a moment and she pushed me away. I almost fell a second time, "You looked like you were falling."I didn't turn around this time, and kept hobbling to the corner of the alley. She didn't say anything else, but before I turned the corner I just felt like I had to say it. I looked at her and said, "I'm Angel Blase."Her eyes stared into mine, harder than before but still like dewdrops.

"Annie. Annie Leonhart."For a few seconds we looked at each other, neither one of us backing down for a moment. And then I turned back around and turned the corner as footsteps running on the pavement sounded behind me.

"Annie! We've been looking everywhere for you!"The voice sounded male, around my age. And then I walked out of range of deciphering words and just heard a buzz coming from behind me. But never, in my life, could I forget those eyes.


	3. The 104th's First Day

I wonder if history will remember the 104th Trainie Corps, or if our achievements will merely be dust left to scatter in the winds of time. Like the era of Titan's was just the aftermath of a snowstorm, and all the footprints we leave are already melting. It's a scary thought, how quickly a burning light can be extinguished. Nothing makes that reality clearer than staring at a titan and understanding how insignificant we really are. Humanity is nothing but a bug crawling across the floor hoping it can escape the boot which is already coming down upon it.

Only some of us really can escape that boot. Some of us can take that boot and throw it so far away that the line of bugs crossing manages to make it across.

The 104th was filled with a lot of bugs, but it also had the mutants.

From the start, you could tell who was strong and who wasn't. There was Mikasa Ackerman, who is and shall always be the strongest of the 104th. There was Reiner Braun and his shadow Bertrolt Hoover. And besides being strong, they were smart too. I always respected those two. I would later mention to Reiner I'd follow him to my death if he needed me too.

Eren Jaeger was certainly a strong soldier, if only in determination and will. He wasn't the greatest with gear, but his passion for the fight wasn't something to be overlooked. Annie Leonhart was another strong one, and a quiet one. She was...a mystery above all. Armin Arlert wasn't the best soldier, but he had a damn fine brain.

Of course, there's also me. I could be as good as Mikasa...with thirty years worth of experience under my belt and her becoming a drunken fool who can barely use gear. That's possibly the only way I could beat her. If she was having a bad day, and I was having the best day of my life.

Right when you saw her, you knew that she was a prodigy. Maybe it was the way she stood, like she knew what she was going to do and how she was going to do it. People would always aspire to be better than her, but aspiring was as far as you got.

Of course, I would never have known any of these people if it hadn't been for the military. The reason why I joined isn't because of revenge on the damn titans, or because I wanted to live a plush life in the military police and never see a titan again. Really, it's because I had no other option left in life. My family was gone, so were my friends. I had no relations left in life, and no favors to call on. When you're left with only one path, you have to take it. Luckily, I turned out to be quite a fine soldier. I had managed to build up quite a bit of strength working for the baker back in Shiganshina, lifting flour sacks and all.

The first day of training camp is also the worst day of training camp. This dude who looks like a classic storybook villain walks between the recruits, lined up in perfect formation, and yells at ones who look weak. It's both brilliantly comical, ridiculously mean, and genuinely effective.

I was one of the people who Keith Shadis decided had already been into hell and back. And yes, I have been to a hell. Once you've stood in front of a Titan and felt the strength of it's body. The way the ground shakes when it moves, and the beast's simple drive to kill. All it knows is kill, that's all the titan knows. There is nothing worse than creature with only one purpose, because if it only has that purpose then there's nothing you can do to stop it from attempting that purpose.

Keith did pick on a boy who I recognized if I didn't know. He was a refuge from Shiganshina, that much was obvious. But to Keith, Shiganshina didn't mean you were off the hook.

He stopped in front of the golden haired boy, and looked down at him. His eyes were cold and heartless, if there was even a heart left inside of him, "What is your name soldier?"

The boy trembled, his whole body shaking in fear. It felt like you could hear his gulp from kilometers around. With a voice laced with trepidation, he spoke, "Armin Arlert, sir!"His hand raised to his forehead in the salute, a second too late.

If Shadis hated anything more than someone who failed to salute properly, it was a scared person who failed to salute properly. His dark eyes glazed over with pure darkness and his mind must have filled with ways of torturing the poor kid. And then, amazingly, the sound of teeth crunching on the soft skin of a potato echoed through the valley. Everyone turned to look.

A girl with brown hair was staring forward, a single drop of sweat gleaming as it slithered down her face. Her hand held the half-eaten potato as her jaw moved up and down, slowly devouring the vegetable that wasn't supposed to be. To Keith Shadis, such an act was an intolerable act of defiance that wasn't ever supposed to happen. Never. This kind of shit happened to other instructors, but no one insulted Keith Shadis.

Sasha Blouse had just made the greatest mistake of her life. Who knew such a thing could be eating a potato?

Keith sort of whipped around and turned to face the vermin who dared to eat in his presence. One moment he was standing in front of Armin Arlert, but once he heard the sound of the potato crunching he was already in front of the girl. He was like a phantom that glided through space to find it's next victim. It's terrifying.

His face was even darker, if such a feat is possible, "And who...are you?"His voice carried weight throughout the canyon, it's anger resonant.

"Sasha Blouse sir!"Trembling, her hand found her forehead. Keith was silent for a moment, and then his glanced around.

"Put your eyes back where they belong soldiers!"The entire squad...corrected their eyes, although we were still looking out of our corners, "Where did you get that...potato?"

"I, uh, found it. In the kitchen."Keith nodded his head.

"Give me it."Sasha did, and he threw it as far away as possible, "This, trainee's is the kind of behavior I will not tolerate here. You are all dismissed, but know that I hate children. And Puppies."He added like an afterthought. And that was it, that was the day.


	4. Lake Story

Training can only be described as one thing-intense. Let me explain, this isn't like you go for a three mile run when you feel like it. You don't do ten pushups and then call it quits till tomorrow. For the 104th, training was a way of life. We all knew the stories of people who had died during training, but of course we all also assumed there were rumours.

I still believed they were rumours for the first couple of days. Most people probably still believed they were merely rumours. I guess that's how the system is supposed to work, Keith Shadis's whole plan. Lull us into believing they were rumours with a couple of days of light training, and then hit us when we weren't on guard. Dastardly. It was such a mean thing to do. And I love it.

He worked like that for a lot of the time I knew him. He kept you looking in one direction while he punched you in the other. He fought us the same way you'd fight a titan, don't let it know where you're hitting from. Or, don't let it know you're hitting at all.

The first trial of our strength and will was the gear tests. You can't be a soldier if you can't use the gear, because you can't punch a titan to death. Well, maybe one of those small ones. If you really trained, there might be a shot.

Anyway, we weren't all being trained to fight small titans hand-to-hand. We were being trained to kill so efficiently that neither the titan nor us knew we had killed it. And being able to use gear is required to do that. So, he tested us with a stationary 3DMG trial. We had to balance in a set of pre-prepared gear. If a person couldn't do that, they had to leave. I didn't have any trouble with the gear. Well, that's a lie. I had a bit of a kink at the start, but I smoothed it out.

Others didn't have any problems balancing at all. In fact, some people looked like they had been sitting in that gear for their entire life. They did not wobble in the least. It was like watching a rock, but slightly more exciting.

And then the passion filled boy came up to the stand, with his face contorted in the most determined stare I'd ever seen. Eren Jaeger looked like he was facing the ultimate titan, that if you killed all the others would disappear. And to him, that was true. This was a test of no longer his passion. This was a test of skill. Although he would not admit, he feared that he was incapable of doing the most simple task he will ever be asked to do. But even though it so simple, the futures of countless people depend on the results of those who accept the task.

His foot crunched along the ground, each one in rhythm with his heartbeat. His face was stone cold, even as the anxious tore him apart. He planted one foot solidly in the ground, and locked his gear into place. His eyes did not look at us, but rather ahead into some distant void. Today, he promised, I will take the first step to vengeance. Today, I will have the power I need to kill every titan. Today, I will prove I can beat them!

And then he was lifted up and promptly fell on his face.

I would've laughed, but it felt wrong.

Anyway, the face Eren was making when he was on the ground was the highlight of my day. He was just in total shock. He just couldn't that he had failed. Eren Jaeger the killer of titans! Eren Jaeger the savior of humanity! Eren Jaeger the great! Eren Jaeger who couldn't even balance correctly with 3DMG! Oh, how the history books will remember that one…

Of course, Eren was not the type of person to submit to defeat. If you told him he was beaten, he said not yet. If you told him he was lost, he'd say he's still alive. If you told him he was wrong...he would turn his back on you and pretend you didn't exist.

I'm not even kidding about the last one. There was one time I told him he was wrong about something stupid, and all of the sudden he forgot I was there. For a month.

With a failure like that, especially with the humiliation of it having seen by Mikasa, and Armin, and, uh, everyone else. That's the sort of shit Eren doesn't take from anybody, no matter if that anybody just happens to be the planet.

No way, to Eren Jaeger this was no longer a test of will. This was an act of defiance by the 3DMG. There was no backing down now.

Eren found me at the lake. I had been looking out to the water, admiring the glittering of the last rays of sunlight that bounced off the water into my eyes. Reiner and Bertrolt followed him, along with Armin close behind. It was an odd sight, I hadn't expected those four to hang together.

I just turned my eyes back to the lake, my left foot dipping in the water, and acted like I didn't care they had interrupted my peace and serenity. I had taken great pleasure in laying on the shoreline for a while very day., just enjoying the way the clouds moved overhead.. I knew I would have to leave now, as Eren isn't the type of person to let a man enjoy his relaxation time. However, when Reiner spotted me there he motioned for the others to head around to a more secluded part of the lake. I had hoped there were merely passing by, but I noticed that Eren was carrying a set of gear. I picked up my bags, one filled with my own gear, and headed towards the treeline, slipping behind the sight of others into shadows. I didn't quite want to leave the area, as it still felt like there was time to be had at the lake.

The sun hadn't yet fallen, although within the hour it would most likely ride underneath the horizon. Perhaps, I considered, I could migrate over to the other side of the lake? Although Eren can be...loud sometimes, I doubt he would feel the need to yell things to me across the lake.

So, that's how I found myself sitting at the other end of the lake, watching Reiner and Bertrolt instruct Eren how to properly use the 3D Maneuver Gear. That is also how I happened to be in exactly the right place, at exactly the right moment. Well actually, it could also be considered as the wrong place, at exactly the wrong moment.

"Angel Blase, how odd to find you here."Keith Shadis's voice entered my ears just as I was settling into a peaceful state of relaxation. I was startled, essentially leaping up to salute him.

"Sir! Um, if I may ask...what are you doing here?"He nodded.

"I was going to ask the same question,"He moved to sit down on one of the many large, flat rocks that dotted the edge of the lake, "He's a determined boy, but how far can mere determination take a man who lacks any intrinsic ability?"

I was silent for a moment, and before I could reply he continued, "I know, it's out of my place to speak of such things to a boy. You shouldn't be burdened with the ramblings of an old fool. But really, Angel. Tell me, what are you doing on this side of the lake. It appeared that you were waiting for somebody."

"Well Sir, I wasn't waiting for anybody. I was just enjoying the moment. If that makes any sense."He nodded again, as he stood up.

"Well, Angel boy. I trust you not to talk about any part of this conversation. Let it be auh… secret between the two of us."He left, suddenly and quickly. He faded into the night, like he faded out of it. And then there was me, left alone sitting at the edge of the water watching a determined boy try to work past his failure to succeed. In a way, it was a beautiful sight. Seeing the pure strength of his mind trying to overcome the clumsiness of his body.

And in a way, it was a sad sight. How could such a determined person be a natural failure? Something about that doesn't seem right. Although seeing how Eren worked to improve, I was sure that he could pass the test with flying colors now.

And then I heard it, the crunching of a boot behind me. I spun around, the secret blade that I always carried around whipping out it's scabbard. I only caught a glimpse of the shadow that was creeping upon me, but that was all I needed to prepare for the monster that would soon come bursting out of the tree's to try to tear me apart.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't think that anyone would be here. Especially not with a weapon.."And all of the sudden I was embarrassed, because here I was standing as if my life was in complete jeopardy when the sound was made only by a girl. My blade found it's sheath again, and I bowed my head slightly in an apologetic manner.

"No, it's uh...my fault. I guess I shouldn't draw blades without a reason."I laughed, trying to lighten the mood a bit. She was familiar, but not very. Her hair was black, and there was something different about her. I can't quite place it, but no one else really had the same type of face...maybe it was her eyes.

She stepped out of the tree line, very calm for a person who had just had blades drawn on her, "Mikasa Ackerman, and you?"

"What? Oh! Angel Blase."She nodded. That's a very Shiganshina name, you wouldn't happen to be from there?"

"Actually, I am. I was born, raised, and evicted in Shiganshina. Not many people are very knowledgeable with Shiganshina names. I guess you must be from there too?"

"Me and Eren both."

"So, that's why he hates Titans so much. You must know him well."

"Of course, he's my brother."

"Oh. Well, you must be very close. I never would have guessed such a thing. You two look nothing alike."

"I'm adopted."

'Oh. Well, you must be very grateful to his family. They must be proud of what you two are doing."

"They're dead."

"Oh. Well, it must have been very hard for you two."

"Yeah."She wasn't really talking to me, she never was. No, she was watching Eren the whole time.

"Well, I, uh...guess I'll see you around."

"Yeah, goodbye Angel."

"See you, Mikasa."And then I headed off back towards the dorms. To tell the truth, I'd had enough crazy for the night.


	5. Boxing Teaches You To Stand

I ended up being skilled, but not incredibly, with the 3DMG. But hand-to-hand was a very different story. As a boy, I had often lifted heavy bags for the baker. My father was a naturally large man, and I guess I took that trait from him. Maybe my aptitude for the gear was also a trait I took from him, as he had been a member of the Survey Corps for many years, until he vanished. I mean vanished, not killed.

I've learned from friends of his that he was one of the most beloved members of the Corps. He was exceptionally gifted with the power to maneuver around titans, and often acted as a distraction during campaigns. He was capable of taking out titans, but he claimed that he couldn't take the pressure of having a person's life is in hands. If he ever failed, the death of his comrades would kill him before the titan. He survived a long time, and a titan never killed him.

Oddly enough, Mom says one day he went out and never came back. She assumed at first that he had gotten an urgent message from the Survey Corps while he was out, but they reported that they had not done that, or that he showed up. He just was gone, vanished. There was a search, but they found no leads nor him. I learned to live with it after a while.

But let's not dwell on the sad parts of life, let's instead focus on the now.

My hand-to-hand skills were very different from my 3DMG skills. I didn't rank 1st, but I was far closer to first in hand-to-hand. I was strong, and 3DMG training only enhanced that strength. As well, fighting seemed like a part of my nature. I just sort of knew when to block and when to lunge and when to just overpower. But, that aptitude was nurtured as a child. My dad was a boxer, and I got into boxing at a young age. Shiganshina boxing wasn't very competitive though, more friendly. It was sort of like men's club, and no one went onto tournaments in the inner walls. There was one kid, I forget his name, who was my sparring partner. He was light and nimble on his feet, and so I was trained to take on opponents who were quicker and faster than me with good tactics and brute strength.

When I first saw the best hand-to-hand person in the 104th, I said that I could take her. Her strategy was to be light and quick, and I felt empowered against that. My own style was a counter to those people. So the first time I fought her...well, I won't spoil it.

"Alright Eren, this is the tenth time today. I think we're done here."Annie Leonhart said once she was tired of taking out Eren Jaeger in a single blow.

"Annie...no. Eventually... I will win!"Eren's enthusiasm to continue only seemed to improve with each defeat, although he lasted shorter each round.

"I'm serious Eren, you're gonna start to hurt yourself if this continues. And after all, I really don't feel like wasting my time with people here. No one's gonna beat me."Today was the second day of hand-to-hand training, and so far only Annie had really distinguished herself. The first day I fought a very large person, and it was not an easy fight but I won out in the end. I hadn't really showed any skills as a fighter though, and I didn't plan on it until my chance to fight Annie.

"How can I beat you if don't train against you? You are the best, but the best way to become the best is to fight the best."

"That's not true…"You could tell, Annie was getting slightly tired of Eren's unyielding determination. In fact, so was I.

"Hey, Eren. You should probably take a short break anyway, it's not healthy to push yourself to the limit all the time. And after all, some of us would like to test themselves against the best."I smiled. It was devious acting like a really great friend giving some advice when actually just wanted them to stop doing something so you could do it.

Annie looked at me, her gaze was quizzical. She glanced between me and Eren, before settling on me with an intense stare. I met her with full force.

"You know what?"She said, "I think I'll take one more fight for today. How about you Angel?"Her tone was mocking, as if she didn't expect a real fight.

I smiled again, "Yeah, why not?"And then I pushed off of the log I was sitting on and went to take Eren's place. I assumed a very sloppy boxer position, an offensive one, trying to trick Annie into a false sense of security.

I slid forward, a serious expression covering my face. All of the sudden, It felt no different than a boxing match where you can use your legs. Everything felt very comfortable.

I was approaching in a very dangerous way, completely exposed to strikes from almost any angle. I was banking on the fact that Annie wouldn't attack first, that when I lunged I would assume a perfect position and surprise her enough to take the advantage. And that's what I did.

I slid forward until I pretended to stumble over a rock when I was very close to her. She seized the chance and moved in. She threw a kick towards the place my legs would've been if I hadn't had perfect balance and jumped backwards. My sloppy position morphed a posed coil, springing to action as I leaped forward in a straight jab towards her. She was surprised but responsive, and threw herself to the side in perfect timing. I missed her, but now I was close in, and my boxing nature came through.

I spun to face her again, merely a couple feet apart, and threw my hands up in an offensive posture. The crowd, which had suddenly appeared after my near defeat of Annie, gasped as I uncoiled towards her again. Her shock had faded, and now she was in complete defensive mode. The two of us had morphed into incredibly elegant fighters, from my sloppy form and Annie's uninterested blows.

Her hands came up like lightning, blocking my attack by throwing it to the side. However, now I was even closer. My arms moved in close to my body, and I started to throw light jabs to push her back a bit. Behind her was the same log that I had been sitting on, and If I could push her against it was over. She still wasn't sure how to combat me, and she stuck with a very defensive posture, backing up and blocking. She tried to throw the occasional punch but I forced her to step backwards each time.

She could tell that if she didn't figure out something soon she was on the ropes. And then she made her move. She stepped forward out of the blue, dodging my jab by going to the side and then throwing as many light punches she could towards me. All of the sudden I was the one backing up.

So I switched to heavy hits, and threw one powerful punch after the other as I danced back. I didn't hit her, not until she leaped to the side and tried to kick out the back of my knees. It worked, she hit out the back of my knees and I went down. She relaxed, assuming that I was done fighting. However, boxing teaches you to stand back up.

I rolled and threw myself towards her from the ground. This caught her by surprise, and she was too late to dodge it. In a last ditch effort, she threw her hands up and blocked it. The problem is that I threw punches heavy enough to break through last ditch block attempts. She went flying, and landed on the ground pretty hard. But she only rolled once.

The crowd was stunned. And then they were wild.

I walked over to where Annie had landed. She was still on the ground, nursing her defeat. I offered her my hand. She took it.

And threw me to the ground as she pulled herself up. I was surprised, and hit the ground pretty hard. Annie looked down at me and smiled. "Never offer your hand to the enemy."She said, as she offered her hand to me. I took it.

When I was standing, she looked at me, "Still don't understand where that form came from. I wasn't expecting a boxer to suddenly appear out of the position you had been in."

"That was my plan, surprise and confuse."She nodded.

"See you around, Angel."Were her final words to me before she left. We fought a couple times after that, but that day was the only time I ever beat Annie Leonhart.


	6. Act, Don't Think

I've never believed in fate. The idea that our lives are already decided for us has never seemed… right. Perhaps I don't want to accept that I can't change my course. I'm a fighter, even when things get tough I'm still a fighter.

But regardless of whether I or not fate is real, there's no denying that the 104th ended up in Trost, and that the Titans chose that day to attack. And maybe it's also fate that the top 5 of the 104th happened to be nowhere near the attack when it happened.

I was on the wrong end of the city, and I have no idea where Mikasa was.

I remember how I was hanging out with some people I had met, when all of the sudden the thunder boomed and we all tensed up. I remember watching the head lift over the wall, as the cadets who had been on the wall went flying over the side. You can't explain what it was like, watching friends you had go tumbling towards the ground, barely regaining control before they splattered against the ground.

First there's shock, you don't quite understand what's happening. The Titans don't make sense when they first show up. And then there's anger. Anger so rich that it numbs the body and the brain, and all you have is the desire to kill. But anger passes quickly, and before you can act there is fear. Fear comes when your body is still numbed, and it just paralyzes you. You don't know what to do, and your body refuses to follow your orders. As I've mentioned before, fear stands for fuck everything and run. But you can't run when your body is numbed.

In training, they tell us the best way to forget fear is to act. They drill us not to think, but to respond faster than we can think. This, they say, is the art of fighting Titans.

So I act.

My body goes flying over the wall, my mind forgetting what's going on. I catch a glimpse of someone flying alongside the Titan. He dodges it's slow strike, but the Titan was aiming for him it seems. The arm of the colossal Titan slams into the cannons that line the wall in front of it. Debris goes tumbling down. The person fighting it spins around it's back, inching closer to the neck of the beast. I can feel the wind rushing along me, and everything feels alright while I'm floating along the world. And then the gate explodes.

The shock wave travels along and through the wall. My hooks are shaken loose and I start falling. I catch myself again, flying upwards right to the top of the wall at the gates. I spin as I land on the top, my swords ready to slice and dice. In front of me, though, there is nothing but empty space. Eren lands next to me.

"It's gone...it just vanished!"

I nod. Just like the first time it appeared, the coward flees once it's beaten. It doesn't even accept death with honor, instead it runs like a coward.

"It got the gate! The titans are going to overrun the city!"Eren just looks at me.

"I was so close! I almost got it!"

"Eren, there is no time for regrets. We have to head to HQ."

Eren said nothing, simply heading over the side of the wall into the city. I leaped off the opposite side, spiraling down towards the hordes of Titans entering the city of Trost. Then, I flipped around and fired my hooks into the top part of the vertical wall. Suddenly, I was racing through the air above the city. From above, I could see the Titans as they entered the first part of the city. Everything seemed so simple when looking down at it.

And then I came crashing down to reality. I found myself flying through the alleyways of Trost, before landing in the HQ, my feet burning as they slid across the ground. People were rushing all around, moving into groups and launching off to move to defensive positions. I walked up to the person at one of the tables, who had a list of teams and groups and their place in the defense of Trost.

" Hiya Angel." A woman I do not recognize grabs my arm, "You're with us."She says, nodding to the group of people standing behind her. There were five people huddled behind her, three I don't know and two I do. The two I know are Reiner Braun and Annie Leonhart. Neither seemed happy.

"Yes Ma'am. We are we going?"I asked, hoping for something a bit farther back than the very front.

"We're in the center of town, we'll be protecting the left side of the Command Center. Name's Rosa, nice to meet you. Heard you're pretty good at fighting, guess we'll see. Word of advice, stick close to your buddies. Titan finds you alone you're good as dead. Oh, and look at that. The last person in our squad has just shown up. Excuse me while I go fetch him."

I just sort of stood there, a bit confused as Rosa speaks really fast. As well, she's really hyper. And then I watched her leave to grab the final squad member, and see that the final member is Bertrolt. Well, how lucky. Reiner and Bertrolt are together, like always.

I went and joined the huddle of troops. Saying hello to Reiner and Annie, but only Bertrolt responded. Annie, as usual, was silent, merely nodding to me. No one else acknowledged my presence.

Then Rosa came back, almost dragging the incredibly bewildered Bertrolt, "Alright everyone, the whole team's together. Now, before we leave, we going to perform a routine exercise. I want everyone to say their name and one thing that no one knows about them. Are we good?"She stopped talking for a second, and one of the guys made a sound but she cut him off, "Alright, let's start with you Lenny."

Lenny, the person who made the sound, sighed, "Do we really have to do this Rosa? This is absurd!"

Rosa put her right hand on her heart and her left hand palm out in front of her, her face in shock and her head glancing at each one of us, "What? I thought it was a great idea! Come on Lenny, what's the harm?"

He sighed, "Fine...but I don't like this! My name's Lenny and something I've never told others is that-"

"Hold on Lenny!" Rosa interrupted, "Last name too!"

Lenny's mouth opened in exasperation, "Rosa...no."

Rosa let out a sound like she was offended, "Alright then…"She muttered menacingly.

Lenny finished what he was going to say,"Anyway, I've never told anyone that I actually don't exist. But, uh, keep it secret."

Rosa clapped, "That wasn't so hard Lenny! Alright I'll go-"

"Rosa,"A tall man who spoke with an air of authority interrupted, "I'm the captain anyway, and I say we're just gonna go. We don't have time to waste right now."

Rosa made another offended sound, and then she was suddenly serious, "Alright Rudy, I'm sorry."

Rudy accepted her apology, "Cadets, you four travel behind us. If we engage, you'll primary duty will be to distract while we kill. Once we reach the destination, we'll split into teams of four and take up vantage points. Don't engage alone, always make sure your teammate knows what you're doing. Most Titans aren't smart enough to grab hook lines, but don't count on it. Watch where you fire as well as the Titan. And most importantly, listen to your superiors. Your mistake could kill two instead of one. Got that? Alright, let's head out. On me team!"

Rudy burst into the air, moving like the gear was just another extension of his person. The rest of us followed, as close to him to him as we could safely be. The wind tried to push us back, but all eight of us fought against it. The defense of Trost begins today, and most likely it wasn't going to go well. Although, Humanity's soldiers would defend her even at the cost of their own lives.

* * *

**I promise, next chapter it's going down. I've grown a bit bored of setting up for fights...**


	7. Don't Leave Gaps

There were no clouds in the sky, as if the world was letting us face our problems without any shadows cast upon them. The battle began just before Noon, and likely much of it would take place when the sun was still high in the sky. It's horribly ironic. The darkest hours of humanity always take place in bright sunlight.

Rudy told us our plan for today. Our job was to defend the left side of the Command Center, and so we would be spaced accordingly. Me and Rudy would be front and center, standing on opposite buildings lining the street that runs past our objective. Reiner and Rosa would be watching from towers directly behind us. Annie and Lenny are directly behind us, acting as decoys. Meanwhile Bertrolt and Gurry, the last member of the squad, would be positioned on the inner buildings lining the street that leads to the Command Center. They were to act as our last resort. Hopefully, they wouldn't be fighting today.

We took up our positions, readying for the siege which would be upon us shortly. Were all nervous, and scared. This was no longer practice, if someone messed up they don't get reprimanded and sent to try again, they get killed. And maybe, someone else gets killed.

There was little talk among us, beside the occasional question asked about the situations in which we would retreat, or when we would be allowed to retreat. In the silence that hung around us we could feel the death rising from all around, it's presence whispering in our ears telling us we would join it, that there is no escape from the darkness encroaching upon us.

"Stand strong,"Rudy said out of the blue, "You can't fight while sitting."

Good point Rudy, good point. I checked my gear one last time, watching as the front line began to pull back, defeated and exhausted. The titans wouldn't be on us yet, as they still had to breach the guard in front of us. But the guard was a thin line that stretched along the entire city, their whole point to give the troops behind them time to prepare for the onslaught and time for the troops in front of them to pull back and merge in with the middle line. They were 10% fighters and 90% distraction. They were retreating within minutes, and the titans were advancing towards us.

"Brace for impact, if anything we'll have to hold out long enough for the remainder of the front line to rejoin the battle. Angel, I want your best at all times. Rosa, Reiner, eyes open and scanning. Lenny, stay close to me at all times. Annie, same goes with Angel. Alright squad, the time for fear is over. Now is the time for action. Never surrender, do not go quietly into the night!"He looked around at all of us, before he threw his sword into the air and yelled out with all of his strength, "For Humanity!"

Fear vanished in the wave of adrenaline that rushed over all of us, and the guard came rushing through us, titans close behind them.

"So Angel,"Annie said to me, as we were partners during this ordeal, "This is it."I looked at her, her blond hair still in the wind, and her expression blank even as the horde marched ever on.

"Yes, this is where we discover the soldiers from the fodder."She nodded.

"Where do you lie on that scale Angel? Are you a soldier or are you yet another piece of fodder destined to die?"

"What?"I was taken back, confused as to what she was asking. That's a pretty deep question to just come out and ask, almost mocking, "I'm a warrior, fighting is what I do best. The titan that takes me down will have to be pretty special."I smiled, knowing it was true.

She chuckled, cold yet amused, "Yes, certainly. The titan that kills you Angel will certainly be special, but not for the reason you think."

"What do you mean?"

"Sorry, I just mean it will have to get me before it gets you. And I don't see any titan getting me anytime soon. Getting me isn't easy to do. And even if they did, they still would have to beat me again."

"I don't understand."

"For a person as strong as me, and you, a titan has to beat us twice in order to actually kill us."

"ANNIE!"Reiner screamed towards us from the top of the tower, "You guys got titans incoming!"

"We know Reiner!"She screamed back, "I'm well aware of them. We're the A-Team down here, we got this!"She turned back to me, "You better protect me, I swear I'm not dying today."

I smiled, "Of course, protecting is my job."There was a pause, "M'Lady."

"Shut up."I didn't respond, just prepared for combat.

The first one came running, aberrant for sure. Before I could even take action though Lenny was moving and Rudy had vanished from view. Lenny was nearly immediately in front of the titan moving away from it, until he moved beyond the tower point and Rudy hooked the two towers and was slicing out the nape before the titan could react. Then, the two pulled back to the buildings up front as normal ones started to filter in. The first normal titan to arrive was taken care of cleanly and quickly, Lenny and Rudy taking it out again. Then the second one was incoming and it was our turn to test our skills. Annie was moving and the titan saw her and just was completely focused on her. It was easy for me to move in behind and take it out, as it paid no attention to me whatsoever.

The second time was a bit harder. Annie moved to distract it, but it had caught sight of me already and seemed to be focused on me. I moved to try to swing around it, but Annie had apparently decided to switch our roles here. Once she saw it didn't pay attention to her she had swung upwards and now swung down and moved past it's nape, slicing it out as she went by. We moved back to the position we would always return to.

"Well, you killed it quite well."I said to her when we safe for a moment.

"That was odd. It really focused in on you."She looked at me, her eyes seeming suspicious of me.

"The first one focused on you and refused to pay attention to me, so it wasn't that weird when it focused on me. Maybe they're just like that."She nodded.

"Yeah."

"Annie! Angel! Third one coming in now!"Reiner called down to us. I focused back in on the front. But again, Annie moved first and it glanced at her for a second but once I moved it was staring at me. Again, I tried to swing up to take it out anyway, but Annie was faster and killed it before I could get around it.

And again, once we were safely back on the roof Annie was very silent, and seemed a bit confused. This repeated for another two or three kills, before she finally said, "They really are focusing on you Angel, sure you aren't hiding some kind of secret power?"She said it very serious, looking right at me with a cold, hard stare.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure."Then the front line started to filter out and take up positions in the ranks of the middle line. A tall, balding man came down among us, addressing Rudy in a firm, steady voice, "We have a problem Rudy, we forgot a team of rookies. Left 'em pretty deep in what is now en'my territory. I want you and your team to go get them out of there."

Rudy nodded, "Alright boss, if you say so. Do we have a relief team coming to take up our positions here?"

"That's what I'm here for, you guys can get going."

Rudy seemed alarmed, "All by yourself? That seems a bit…"

"No! I have backup heading here right now. They should be here before I have to fight a titan, but you guys have no time to waste. Lives are at stake here Rudy, get going."

Rudy saluted him, "Alright Sir! Team gather up, we'll heading out!"

"Oh, wait! Hold on Rudy, there's one more soldier I want to join you. She should be here within a bit."

"Who is she sir?"

"Auxiliary to complement your already elite unit. Best in her class, Mikasa Ackerman. True prodigy that girl, in fact here she is now."And then Mikasa landed right next to the two men. Rudy introduced himself to her, and he told her that she was to join the two soldiers over there, as he pointed at me and Annie.

She joined us, silent as usual, and then Riener came down and joined us as well. Bertrolt showed up a second later, but no one made conservation. We were all a bit nervous for what was ahead, heading deep into the ranks of titans. Rudy gave us the signal to launch from across the street, and we launched into the air as troops filled in the gap we left behind.

We flew through the air, avoiding titans at all costs. Mikasa was on point, I was right behind and then Annie, Reiner, and Bertrolt covered the rear. We dodged a couple groups of titans, sped through the city before we could be noticed. We were moving very fast, when all of the sudden an aberrant came running out of an alleyway as we passed. It happened to appear right in front of me, and as I swerved to avoid it I felt the tension in my hooks vanish, and then I was falling, before quickly being thrown upwards. The aberrant had grabbed my lines and thrown my upwards. The wind pushed against me and through me, as I gasped for breath in what I knew to be my last moments.

Then I was falling, and I fell into the shadow of the beast as a horde of titans started to condense around the area. My back hit the ground, and I felt my bones shatter as my name was thrown into the air by someone, I assume Reiner. Pain bolted through my body, and the face of the aberrant was the last thing I could see as my eyes rolled back and I faded out of consciousness.


	8. Desperate Times

**Well, I'm back. I'm honestly not sure how or why but somehow I ended up here again. Anyway, enjoy.**

* * *

For a moment, the squad had felt almost joyful. Each of them had carried an air of seriousness, yet in the same way they all found something happy in the company of each other, and each trusted each other to do their best and to be safe around each other. Even Mikasa, although she would never admit it, had had a moment where she stopped thinking about finding Eren, and considered what a beautiful day it was, and how nice it felt to be moving through the air in weather like this. It may seem odd how even in the face of death these soldiers looked for beauty in things, but in truth it was necessary. The veterans had learned that lesson long ago, and the recruits didn't even know they were doing it.

It was a lesson which crossed Annie Leonhart's mind as Angel Blase fell to the ground, swatted out of the sky by an attack which had not been seen. She whipped past the the scene, unable to react in time to turn around. Her whole body felt too slow, as if she wasn't in sync with the world. What she wanted to do didn't seem to be the same thing she was doing, no matter how hard she tried she kept moving too slow.

"Angel!"Reiner screamed for everyone, as he went into attack mode. His hooks fired out towards the tower by the Titan's head as he flew past. He jerked to a halt as he connected to the tower, and then spiraled inwards towards the titan. Everything seemed to slow down as he got close. His blades slid out with the metal sound ringing. He was flying too low, but he curved upwards suddenly, moving into a direct flyby on the nape, which he plunged both blades into and ripped apart as he went. Large chunks of flesh exploded into the air alongside the pieces of metal from both of Reiner's shattered blades. The titan stiffened as it happened, and then collapsed onto it's back, luckily away from Angel.

The adults in the front had started to move back to meet up with the younger troops, although none of them were entirely sure what to do in this situation, "On one hand we can't let this boy lose his life. Although we need our full forces, especially with one of us down, in order to break through to the recruits. We can't afford letting someone take him to safety."

"He's pretty valuable though, is it possible that we could carry him with us?" Rudy shook his head.

"I wish. I guess we'll find out. He could be fine for all we know." Even Rudy didn't think that was possible. The group arrived on the rooftop where the young ones were standing. Annie had grabbed Angel and carried him up there. The other three were standing around, not really together, while she was carefully stepping back. None of them had any idea of what to do. Mikasa was slightly annoyed that they had to stop because of Angel's mistake, but even she was a bit thrown off her game by what had just happened.

They all knew that Angel was either dead, or close to it.

It was one thing to be trained to deal with death. It was another to watch it.

"I'm fairly certain he's not alright Rudy." Lenny attempted to joke, but it fell flat.

"Any ideas?" Rudy asked. Somebody suggested they check his breathing, and Rudy quickly did so, confirming that he was indeed alive right now.

"Well we have to try to get him back to safety right? We can't just leave him here." Rosa spoke up. Although she could be extremely annoying, Rosa was fiercely protective of her squad members, no matter if they had just joined.

"Someone will have to carry him back behind our lines, we can't bring him all the way with us to the destination point."

"Well, taking him back should be easy enough, we just send the weakest soldier right? Then we barely jeopardize the mission further."

"Well, we first have to figure out who is the weakest soldier here, although I'll admit that plan could work out."

"Annie was 6th." Mikasa said, matter of fact. Annie glanced at her and shook her head. The others all placed higher than her in the class, which meant that technically she was the weakest of the young troops, but she knew that they weren't sending an older soldier away.

"Fine." She said, "I'll take him."

Rudy nodded, "Well, that was easier than expected. So just to break it down, the seven of us will continue onwards while, uh, Annie here brings Angel back to our lines. Everyone clear on that?" Everybody nodded.

There was a brief moment as Rudy stopped talking, and turned to talk with his peers. Annie quickly headed over towards Reiner, as she needed to talk with him.

"Annie," He said in a hushed tone, making sure that the others didn't overhear them, "Do you think that-"

"Yes." She cut him off, "I'm certain that he's one. Whether or not he's our target is yet to be seen."

"There should only be the one, if he really is one of us then he has to be our target. This is our chance?" But Annie shook her head in a firm no.

"He's not our target, I don't think so at least. I have no idea how he could exist, but trust me. I can feel it."

"Alright." Reiner glanced at the older troops, just quickly seeing if any of them were looking over at him and Annie, "Be careful, can't have you getting killed out here." Annie nodded, and turned away but Reiner stopped her, "And one more thing, this could be a ploy. He might know about us and is luring you away to take you out alone."

"Already considered that, and if that's the truth then my only option is to beat him in a fight." And then Annie stepped away, moving to stand alone. Soon after, Rudy turned around to face the recruits again.

"Let's get moving." He said, "Oh, and Annie, be careful out there." He waved his left arm forward, signalling the takeoff for the troops, and all but Annie and the unconscious Angel took off, leaving the two alone. Although Annie wouldn't admit it, she was a little scared being alone with him, even though he wasn't awake. She was sure that he was a shifter, and she worried she was playing right into his plan. Her worrying only increased as she noticed the steam rising off of Angel. Any doubt left in her mind was instantly gone.

Another thing that bothered was that even when there were four shifters around, the titans were focusing on Angel. She wasn't entirely sure of how that worked, but she seemed to recall that the stronger a shifter was, the more they came under attack. It also bothered her that no titans had shown up while they were standing around on the roof.

"Calm yourself, Annie. Everything's ok." She went over and knelt down next to Angel, checking his heart to make sure it was still beating and sure enough it was. Annie knew that it was going to be beating anyway, considering the steam rising off him. _Perhaps, the best thing to do right now would be to kill him. He's completely defenseless right now, and that would save me the trouble of having to carry him back. _However, Annie could not bring herself to murder right now, even though she was used to it by now.

The thud of giant footsteps brought her attention back to the real world instead of her thoughts, and Annie realized that somehow the titans had crept up on her. There were around 4 or 5 closing in on the building, but luckily only one was above 10 meters.

"Crap." She muttered aloud, "I can't fight this many at once with gear. I've made a terrible mistake." She grabbed Angel, who was surprisingly lighter than she expected, and picked him up. Wires shot out and she flew away to one of the taller pillars dotting the city. Her landing was a little off, and her ankle twisted as she stumbled onto the rock, dropping Angel onto it, "Crap. That really hurts." _I don't really have time to wait for it to heal. That leaves me with two options, either I try to maneuver without an ankle, or I transform. _She looked down at Angel on the ground, and another thought crossed her mind, _I could sacrifice him and make a break for it with that distraction._

_Or, I could see if he'll wake up, and then get him to transform and fight!_ A 15 meter titan was slowly walking towards the two, and Annie recognized that she had to act fast. She was running out of time.

She knelt down next to Angel again, and forcefully ejected his name, "Angel!" She said, "Angel! Goddamnit, wake up!" Not really surprisingly, he slowly opened his eyes, taking in the scene around him.

"Annie," He said sleepily, "Did you die too?"

She sighed, "No, you're not dead."

"Oh, then what am I?"

"Currently you're on a pillar surrounded by titans with only me to protect you. And incredibly, I broke my ankle."

"What happened to everybody else then? Where'd they go?"

"They went onward, I was tasked with getting you back to our lines after you were...knocked out by the titan."

"So, I guess this is it then huh?" He said.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"We're dying here, right? I can't fight, I'm...real tired. And you can't fight with a broken ankle, so we're dead." He seemed oddly calm about everything.

"Are you sure you can't fight?" Annie asked.

"Absolutely, if I try to use my gear I'll just end up killing myself as I'm tired."

"There's...nothing else you can do? Like, I don't know, use those hand to hand combat skills?"

He frowned, "Against titans? That's just suicide. Are you sure this isn't a dream as that's a real weird thing to say."

Annie was starting to get suspicious again, although this time she was starting to think that Angel didn't even know about the powers he had. And to think she spent all that time worrying about something that apparently was never going to happen.

_My only option left is to transform and kill these titans, although I'll have to kill Angel as well if I do that. He has to be a shifter, I can just feel it, but the way he's talking I feel like he might not know it. He could be playing the long con and forcing me to transform first and expend my energy fighting so he can surprise me. I'm not sure what the best course of action here is._

"Hey Annie." Angel said.

"What?" Annie was slightly annoyed at her thoughts being interrupted, although she had to respond in the hopes that he might drop his game.

"I just want to you know, that you're a real cool gal, and it was a pleasure knowing you." Annie sighed.

"Angel, I want to ask you one favor," She looked right into his eyes, "What's about to happen is probably going to disturb you, but don't panic. Can you promise that? Whatever happens, you won't panic? Please?" _I'm going to have to transform now._

"I'm already panicking, just doing it physically really doesn't change anything."

"Ok, but trust me here. Don't panic, alright? Everything will be OK."

He nodded, and closed his eyes, "Yeah sure, I trust you." Angel took one long breath, and then opened his eyes again, "Oh shit, Annie! Behind y-" However, he was too late as the large hand of a titan wrapped around Annie. Time was up.

She activated her knife ring, but no matter how she moved she couldn't manage to stab herself. _I messed up big time. To think, I die here to nothing but a simple titan. _

"Hey listen, you put her down!" Angel was pulling himself off the floor, "Or at least have the courtesy of killing us both at the same time, like, this is ju-oh crap." It turned out that Angel was very weak, and his knees buckled under his own weight. He collapsed to the floor, sliding right next to the edge, and promptly off it.

Annie wished that she could pretend this wasn't happening, _I don't even know how I managed to mess this up so bad. Everything has gone wrong. _She closed her eyes, and awaited death.

When she opened them again, it was because all of the sudden she was falling as the head of her capturor melted in a burst of hot steam, pouring out of the hand of a very angry looking titan.


End file.
